Hagfish have been around for 300 million years, changing very little. They release slime as a defence mechanism, and if you put one in a bucket, it fills up with snot! The reason for the slime is that they use it to choke the gills of their would-be predators.

CRITTER OF THE WEEK T-SHIRTS!

Photo: RNZ/Liminal/DoC

We wanted everyone to be able to celebrate the less attractive critters of New Zealand, so we've made some t-shirts. The illustration is by the amazing Giselle Clarkson with the science advice of Mike Dickison and Nicola Toki, DOC's endangered species ambassador.